Method of packing finned pipe for shipping and handling



L 1 A. o. HURXTHAL ET AL 2,570,059

METHOD OF PACKING FINNED PIPES FOR SHIPPING AND HANDLING Filed Sept. 4, 1946 Patented Oct. 2, 1951 METHOD OF PACKING FINN ED PIPE FOR SHIPPING AND HANDLING Alpheus 0. Hurxthal, Wyncote, and George W. OKeeffe, Elkins Park, Pa., assignors to Proctor & Schwartz, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application September 4, 1946, Serial No. 694,790

6 Claims.

This invention relates to the packing of finned pipe for shipping, handling, and storing purposes; and to an article of commerce resulting from the method and the means employed in the packaging of the finned pipe.

Finned pipe, as well known in the art, comprises a length of metal pipe of circular or other contoured cross section, with metal plates or spaced convolutions of a continuous thin metal strip disposed on the outer surface of the pipe, in either case, with the inner edge of the plates or the strip in heat-conducting contact with the outer surface of the pipe, and with the body of each plate or the strip standing substantially perpendicular to the axis of the pipe, leaving the outer edges of the plates or strip fin-forming elements exposed and unprotected.

The outer unprotected edges of the fin-iorming elements frequently become bent or other wise injured during handling, storing or shipping, as a result of the completed finned pipe units making contact with each other or by being struck by some extraneous object.

Prior to the present invention, it has been customary to protect the fin structure on the pipe by encasing the completed units in boxes or crates, either separately or with a number of units in a common container, and by providing means for supporting the separate units in a manner to prevent the units making contact with each other i in the common container.

The common containers usually consist of a wooden box or crate having a rack built therein to keep the units separate. As a result of the present lumber shortage, it has been difiicult to secure the necessary lumber for the crates. Under the circumstances, the cost of the lumber and labor employed in packaging the completed units amounts to substantially 20 per cent of the cost per foot of the complete units.

One object of the present invention is to provide a package for, and a method of packaging finned pipe which will facilitate the packing operation and afford full and complete protection for the fin structure on the pipe, at a greatly reduced cost, and which will not require the use of scarce lumber or the employment of a great amount of labor as now required under the prior practice to construct crates and enclose the finned pipe units therein. a

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 illustrates a complete finned pipe unit packaged in accordance with the present invention for handling, shipping, and storing purposes, etc.;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the package illustrating the manner in which the edges of the fins are protected in the event of the package being struck by an extraneous object;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view illustrating a modified arrangement for closing the end of the package around the unit;

Fig. 4 is an end view illustrating a plurality of the units shown in Fig. 1 assembled for shipping and other purposes; and

Fig. 5 is a View illustrating a modification of the invention wherein the package is built directly on and in contact with the outer edges of the fins.

As shown in the drawing, the specific form of fin pipe unit employed herein for the purpose of illustrating the invention comprises a hollow pipe of circular cross section, indicated at I. Extending circumferentially and longitudinally of the pipe I is a multiplicity of longitudinally spaced convolutions 2, 2 composed of a thin metal strip spirally wound on the outer surface of the pipe I and, in the present instance, with the inner edge of the strip 3 bent at right angles to the radially extending body portion of the strip to form a flange or foot 4 thereon, to provide maximum heat conductivity from the pipe I to the fins 2, or vice versa.

Normally, the outer edges 5 of the convolutions 2 of the strip 3 are exposed and unprotected. In order to afford protection for these outer edges of the fins, in accordance with the present invention, the entire length of the fin structure on the pipe I is encased Within a sleeve or tube I0 which may be of metal, plastic, vulcanized fiber, paper, or ordinary cardboard, such, for example, as that employed in the making of mailing tubes.

Preferably, the tube I b is composed of cardboard of medium density and of any desired wall thickness. The finned unit should fit fairly snug or close within the outer casing provided by the tubing I0, whereby the force of any contact of the tube ID with any extraneous object will be distributed across the outer edges of a large number of the fins 2. The contact of the inner surface of the tube It! with such a large number of the outer edges of the fins 2 will prevent injury to the outer edges of any small group of such edges and afiord protection thereto against indentations being produced in the outer tube I 0 by localized contact with some extraneous object.

The wall thickness of the tubing I0 may vary and the quality of the stock in the tubing likewise may vary without departing from the spirit the abutting ends of the sections Illa,

3 of the invention. It is preferred, however, to employ a paper tubing of medium density which will be sufiiciently tough to resist tearing under ordinary handling circumstances.

The quality of the stock and the thickness and density of the wall of the tube it! should be such that, should the packaged unit be struck by some extraneous object, the outer edges of the fins 2 would impress themselves in the wall of the tubing I0, as illustrated at I l in Fig. 2, without cutting through the tubing, and form small convexities I2 between the adjacent relatively spaced fin edges 5, 5, which will suffice to maintain the edges 5, 5 in their spaced relation to each other, and connect the fins to each other at the "outer edges thereof. Thus, the combined inherent bend-resisting forces of the connected fins will collectively resist lateral bending of any and all of the fins within the area struck by the extraneous object, within reasonable limits normally encountered.

While a single outer casing tubing I0 may be employed to cover the total length of the fin structure of any one unit, it is desirable, with units of the longer lengths, for example, units of approximately fifteen feet, to employ a plurality of tube structures lea, Illa applied to the outside of finned pipe unit in end-to-end abutting relation to each other, for collectively coverin the entire length and circumference of the fin structure, from end-to-end thereof; and to connect lea by overlapping bands [3, l3 of gummed adhesive fabric or paper tape, as shown in Fig. 1.

In a like manner, in order to avoid relative l axial shifting of or excessive axial movement between the outer casing I I] and the fin structure made up of the fins 2, 2 encased thereby, similar tapes I4, I4 are wound around the terminal ends of the outer casing tubing H] with said tapes dropping over the ends of the fin structure and being also wound one or more times around the pipe I, beyond the ends of the tubing lil, as illus trated at l5, l5.

If greater protection is desired for the ends of the fin structure, flanged cup-like elements may be employed to fit within the ends of the casing tubing lilb around the pipe la, witha disclike body 2| having a central opening to" receive the pipe la and to bear against the terminalconvolution 2a of the fin structure on the pipe la. Each end closure element 20' is preferably provided with an angular flange 22 which normally is flared outwardly, as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 3, and which is forced into the end of the casing tubing lilb for frictionally engaging the inner surface thereof and maintaining the end cup 20 in place. Ifdesired, the outer surface of the annular flange 22 may be provided with an adhesive prior to the inserting of the cup into the end of the tubing, or the cup may be main tained in place by the simple expedient of the common wire staple driven throughthe fiange 22 and the wall of the tube Illa adjacent the end thereof.

For shipping or handling purposes, a number of the individually packaged finned pipe units, each encased within its own protective covering Ill, may be assembled, in the manner illustrated in Fig. 4', and bound together by spaced bands 25 of metal, cloth, paper, or any other suitable material.

If desired, an outer protective casing Iflc may be formed directly on the finned pipe lc' by winding a heavy tough, preferably creped, paper 26 in laterally overlapping spiral convolutions 21, 21 directly on the outer edges 5c of the fins 20, as shown in Fig. 5, with substantially one half the width of the strip 26 in each convolution overlapping substantially one half of the width of the strip in the underlying convolution. By winding the protective covering directly on the outer edges of the fins under tension, the wrapping paper will tend to form into small convexities between the adjacently relatively spaced fins 20 thereby connecting the outer edges of the fins and causing the collective bend-resisting strength of the connected fins to ofier increased resistance to bending of any of the fins as a result of contact of the wrapping with some extraneous object, much in the same manner as illustrated in Fig. 2.

Throughout the foregoing description and throughout the following appended claims, the casing it has been described as closely fitting the fin structure. It will be understood, how- 'ever, that a moderate tolerance between the outside diameter of the fins and the inside diameter of the casing is permissible. For example, the inside diameter of the casing may be as much as one-eighth of an inch larger in diameter than the fin structure, to facilitate the placing of the casing over the fin structure and to take care of variations in the diameter of the fins. This designation has been employed to bring out the general relationship of the casing and the fin structure rather than a tube of such a larger diameter than the fin structure as Would permit excessive relative movement between the tube and the fin structure therein that injury to the fin structure would result. a

We claim:

1. An article of commerce comprising a length of pipe having on its outer surface a fin structure composed of closely spacedfin-forming elements extending substantially perpendicular to the axis of said pipe with their peripheral edges in substantial axial alinement, and a tubular casing enveloping said pipe throughout the axial length and circumference of the fin structure with the inner surface of said casing engaging the peripheral edges of the fin-forming elements.

2. An article of commerce comprising a length of pipe having on its outer surface a fin structure composed of closely spaced fin-forming elements extending substantially perpendicular to the axis of said pipe with their peripheral edges in substantial axial alinement, and a tubular casing enveloping said pipe throughout the axial length and circumference of the fin structure with the inner surface of said casing engaging the peripheral edges of the fin-forming elements, and means on the pipe at the opposite ends of the fin structure for preventing excessive axial movement of said casing relative to said fin structure.

3. An article of commerce comprising a length of pipe having on its outer surface a fin structure composed of closely spaced fin-forming elements extending substantially perpendicular to the axis of said pipe with their peripheral edges in substantial axial alinement, said fin structure terminating short of the ends of said pipe, a close fitting paper tube thereon and extending throughout the axial length and circumference of the fin structure, and means extending between at least one of the plain ends of the pipe beyond'the fin structure and an adjacent end of the close fitting paper tube to prevent axial movement of said casing with respect to the enclosed fin structure.

4. An article of commerce comprising a length of pipe having on its outer surface a fin structure composed of closely spaced fin-forming elements extending substantially perpendicular to the axis of said pipe with the peripheral edges in substantial axial alinement, and a close fitting paper tube thereon and extending throughout the axial length and circumference of the fin structure on the pipe, the circumferential wall of said tube being of sulficiently low density to become superficially depressed outwardly on its inner surface in line with and by the peripheral edges of the fin-forming elements under excessive pressure externally applied inwardly to said tube, said inner surface under said external pressure developing inwardly projecting convexities intermediate adjacent fin-forming elements and thereby retaining normal spacing of the peripheral edges thereof.

5. An article of commerce comprising a length of pipe having on its outer surface a fin structure composed of closely spaced fin-forming elements extending substantially perpendicular to the axis of said pipe with their peripheral edges in substantial axial alinement, and a tubular casing enveloping said pipe throughout the axial length and circumference of the fin structure with the peripheral edges of the fin-forming elements in frictional engagement with the inner surface of said casing to resist relative axial movement of said casing with respect to said fin structure.

6. An article of commerce comprising a length of pipe having on its outer surface a fin structure composed of closely spaced flu-forming elements extending substantially perpendicular to the axis of said pipe with their peripheral edges in substantial axial alinement, said fin structure terminating short of the ends of the pipe to provide axially extending end portions free from fin structure, a tubular casing enveloping said pipe throughout the axial length and circumference of the fin structure, and means extending between each of the axially extending end portions and each of the adjacent ends of said casing to prevent axial movement of said casing with respect to the enclosed fin structure.

ALPHEUS O. HURX'IHAL.

GEORGE W. O'KEEFFE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,785,975 Phillips Dec. 23, 1930 1,912,076 Hollingsworth May 30, 1933 1,975,428 John Oct. 2, 1934 2,146,614 Bergdoll Feb. 7, 1939 2,256,993 Van Vleet Sept. 23, 1941 2,317,354 Bennett Apr. 27, 1943 2,401,842 Slater June 11, 1946 2,424,553 Conti July 29, 1947 2,425,176 Counterman Aug. 5, 1947 2,429,079 Smith Oct. 14, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 864,994 France Feb. 10, 1941 

